Rodney Hood scored a career-high 30 points Tuesday night to help the Blue Devils beat the Pirates 83-74 in the NIT Season Tipoff.
Jabari Parker had 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for the Blue Devils (4-1), who survived a tougher-than-expected fight from the underdog Pirates to improve to 24-2 all-time in the early season tournament.
Duke led by a point with about 7 minutes left but stayed in front and did enough in the final 2 1/2 minutes to turn away East Carolina (4-1), earning a trip to next week's NIT semifinals for a matchup with Alabama in New York's Madison Square Garden.